


Exclave

by sodakey



Series: Morgan and Reid Have a Conversation [1]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Angst, Episode Related, Episode: s03e16 Elephant's Memory, Families of Choice, Friendship, Gap Filler, Gen, Missing Scene, Morgan and Reid Have a Conversation, better if you've seen the episode
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-01
Updated: 2014-03-01
Packaged: 2018-01-14 04:12:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1252333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sodakey/pseuds/sodakey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Depiction of a possible missing scene from Elephant's Memory. Set after Hotch sends Reid back to Owen's house to work with Morgan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Exclave

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Not mine
> 
> This is just a random gap filler for a gap that doesn't really need filling, but I like it when the characters use their profiling magic and their intimate knowledge of human behavior on each other. This scene depicts that possibility within the episode "Elephant's Memory." It assumes you are familiar with the episode and characters referenced within. No beta.

* * *

**Exclave**

* * *

Owen Savage's room was not yielding the rest of its secrets as easily as Morgan hoped it would. He needed to switch tactics. Shoving away from the computer, he stood, took a deep breath, and turned around slowly, tracking eyes across the walls, back to the poster of Johnny Cash.  _If I were Owen… if I were a lonely disillusioned kid…_

He shifted, following the vague reference point of footprints Owen had left on his carpet floor. He was tracing them back to the box in the closet when his phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw  _Hotch_  printed across the screen. Flipping the phone open, he sighed. "Hotch, I don't have anything yet. I know you think I'm a miracle worker but I need a little more time."

"That's not why I'm calling."

Morgan released the edge of the box and straightened. "What's up?"

"I'm sending you Reid. He's to help you go through Owen's things."

"Something wrong?"

"His diplomacy skills have taken a backwards slide. Listen, Morgan, I need you to talk to him. More specifically, I need you to get him to talk to you."

Morgan released a breath. "He's over-identifying with Owen Savage."

"Yes," said Hotch. "I'm not sure exactly what he's thinking but he's struggling and the cracks are starting to show. I'd rather not pull him from the case, but if he keeps going as he is, I won't have a choice. After what happened and what he witnessed in Chula Vista, if I pull him, he'll perceive it as another failure. He's come a long way. I don't want him relapsing now."

"Did you tell him that?"

"He doesn't need an authority figure right now. He needs someone who he perceives can relate to him on his level. You're good with him, Morgan. You always have been."

"Reid just needs to know he's not alone here, Hotch. He relates to Owen. Alienated. Lonely. Misunderstood. Absent parent. He gets that. And I don't blame him."

"This isn't about blame. It's about the fact that that was then, this is now. He's not alone, and he's not misunderstood, and he's not the only one of us who feels prone to those emotions. Morgan, we need him. He has the best chance of getting in this kid's head, but I don't want him getting lost in there. Can you do it?"

"When it comes down to it, it's not that hard to relate to," Morgan admitted. "Sitting in this room, Hotch, half of me is there already."

"Well don't you get lost in there either. Keep me posted."

"I will." He pulled the phone away form his head and clicked it shut, leaving his hand in the air for a second, hanging there like a question mark, body motionless as he processed Hotch's request.

Reid's been bent over Owen's computer for twenty minutes before Morgan figures out what he can say. Building a bridge into Reid's head is more straightforward than the average person might think, and Morgan's mother always told him honesty was the best policy anyway. "Reid," he begins, waiting until Reid turns around before he continues. "You know, you're not the only one..."

* * *

End


End file.
